Method and system for establishing voice communications using a computer network

ABSTRACT

A method and system ( 100 ) establishes voice communications between a computer operator ( 102 ) and an agent ( 104 ) of a business over a computer network, such as the Internet ( 108 ). Using an operator computer ( 106 ), the computer operator ( 102 ) views advertisements of the business&#39; products or services on the Internet ( 108 ) via customized home pages ( 200 ). When the operator ( 102 ) wishes to order a product or ask additional questions about a product, the operator ( 102 ) activates a “call me” button ( 210 ). A return call screen ( 300 ) is then presented to the operator ( 102 ) with areas to insert a name ( 302 ), a telephone number ( 304 ) and a time to call ( 306 ). This information is packetized in a call request which is transmitted over the Internet ( 108 ) to a telephone switching system ( 112 ) associated with the business. The telephone switching system ( 112 ) subsequently dials the telephone number ( 304 ) at the time to call ( 306 ). When the operator ( 102 ) answers an operator telephone ( 120 ), the telephone switching system ( 112 ) connects the operator ( 102 ) with the agent ( 104 ) via an agent telephone ( 118 ). The telephone switching system ( 112 ) may be comprised of a telephone computer ( 114 ) and an automatic call distributor ( 116 ).

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/910,160,filed Jul. 20, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,621,899, which was acontinuation of application Ser. No. 09/399,528, filed Sep. 20, 1999,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,282,284 which was a continuation of Ser. No.09/019,090 filed Feb. 5, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,394, which was acontinuation of application Ser. No. 08/426,533 filed Apr. 21, 1995 nowabandoned. The present invention relates generally to a method andsystem for establishing voice communications between a computer user anda business and, more particularly, a method and system for establishingvoice communications between a computer user and an agent of a businessvia a computer network, such as the Internet, wherein the computer usertransmits a call request over the computer network to a telephoneswitching system associated with the agent and, in response to the callrequest, the telephone switching system calls the computer user andconnects the agent to the computer user when the computer user answersthe call.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computer users are increasingly interacting with other computer usersvia extensive computer networks. The computer users are able to performa multitude of tasks over computer networks, such as buying concerttickets, checking stock prices, reviewing news stories, and the like.One extensive, international computer network is the Internet. TheInternet was originally created to electronically interconnectgovernment and university computers over telephone lines. The Internethas now grown, however, to encompass over 20 million users worldwideincluding single user computers.

As the number of Internet users proliferate, businesses are increasinglyturning to the Internet as an advertising medium. Over 2,500 businessescurrently advertise on the Internet in the form of home pages on theWorld Wide Web (the “Web”). As is well known by those in the art, theWeb, which is organized by subject matter, is an advanced system fornavigating the Internet. Home pages are the first screens of thedifferent Web sites.

Computer users are therefore able to quickly and easily review amultitude of products and services which are offered by businessesadvertising on the Internet. Unfortunately, a user is currently unableto obtain additional information regarding products or services in sucha convenient and efficient manner. To obtain additional information, theuser must record the telephone number of a particular business andmanually call the business.

As those in the direct response advertising business will readilyattest, the success of direct response advertising depends greatly uponthe ease in which a potential customer can contact those selling theproducts or services. The additional steps of manually recording thetelephone number and dialing the telephone number may therefore deterpotential customers from further inquiry and possibly result in lostsales.

In addition, most individual consumers have a single telephone line intheir home which is shared between voice connections for telephone callsand data connections for connecting to the Internet, for example. Thetypical consumer is thus unable to access the Internet whileconcomitantly making a telephone call to the business. Advantageously,many businesses have separate telephone lines for data and voicecommunications. Business computer users are thus able to conductbusiness simultaneously over both a telephone and a computer.

Further, lack of security, reliability and accountability restrict theability of consumers to purchase goods over the Internet. Although somepurchases can be made over the Internet using a credit card, the threatof someone fraudulently obtaining their credit card number through thecomputer network compels a majority of consumers to pay for the goodsoff-line, typically over the telephone using the previously describedprocess.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and system forestablishing voice communications between a computer user and an agentof a business wherein the computer user instructs a telephone switchingsystem located at the business to call the computer user over thetelephone. When the computer user answers the call, the telephoneswitching system automatically connects the agent to the computer user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This need is met by the method and system of the present invention forestablishing voice communications between a computer user and an agentwherein the computer user sends a call request over a computer network,such as the Internet, to a telephone switching network associated withthe agent. The call request preferably includes a name of the computeruser, a telephone number of a telephone associated with the computeruser and a time to call. The telephone switching network detects theinformation contained in the call request and dials the computer usertelephone at the designated time to call. When the computer user answersthe computer user telephone, the telephone switching system connects anagent telephone associated with the agent to the computer usertelephone.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method forestablishing voice communications between a computer user which isassociated with a computer and a telephone and an agent is provided. Themethod comprises the steps of: entering a call request by the computeruser in the computer for the agent to call the computer user;transmitting the call request from the computer over a computer networkto a telephone switching system; and establishing voice communicationsbetween the agent and the computer user through the telephone switchingsystem.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, acommunications system for establishing voice communications between acomputer user and an agent is provided. The computer user beingassociated with a computer user telephone and entering a call requestinto a computer. The communications system comprises an agent telephoneassociated with the agent and telephone switching system for receivingthe call request from the computer, for dialing the computer usertelephone and for interconnecting the agent telephone and the computeruser telephone.

Preferably, the telephone switching system comprises a telephonecomputer for receiving the call request from the computer. An automaticcall distributor for automatically dialing the computer user telephonein response to the telephone computer and for interconnecting the agenttelephone and the computer user telephone. The automatic calldistributor preferably comprises answer means for detecting when thecomputer user answers the computer user telephone, and wherein theautomatic call distributor connects the agent to the computer usertelephone when the computer user answers the computer user telephone.The call request may comprise a time to call the computer user and thetelephone computer may comprise time means for detecting the time tocall the computer user from the call request; and dial means responsiveto the time means for prompting the automatic call distributor to callthe computer user telephone at the time to call.

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a method for acomputer user to easily and conveniently have a business advertising ona computer network, such as the Internet, call the computer user backover the telephone.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description, theaccompanying drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for establishing voicecommunications between a computer user and an agent in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary home page used for advertising by, forexample, a business on the Internet; and

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary return call screen used by the computer userrequest a return call from the business.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A communications system 100 for establishing voice communicationsbetween a computer user 102 and an agent 104 is shown in FIG. 1. Thecomputer user 102 uses a user computer 106 to communicate with othercomputers through a computer network, such as, for example, the Internet108, in a well known manner. Although the invention will be describedwith reference to the Internet, it should be understood that theinvention may be advantageously employed with any of a number ofcomputer networks, such as conventional bulletin boards.

Modern businesses usually have an automated system, generally referencedby numeral 110, for handling inbound and outbound telephone calls. Forexample, a business may be connected to the Internet 108 via a telephoneswitching system 112. The telephone switching system 112 comprises atelephone computer 114 connected to an automatic call distributor (ACD)116, preferably Rockwell International's SPECTRUM Automatic CallDistribution System. The ACD 116, or alternatively a private branchexchange (PBX), operates in a well known manner to connect an agenttelephone 118 associated with the agent 104 to external telephonicunits, such as a computer user telephone 120 associated with thecomputer user 102. Although only one agent 104 is shown, businessestypically have a plurality of agents for answering telephone calls. Aswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the presentinvention may be advantageously employed with a business having morethan one agent. The ACD 116 is connected to the user telephone 120through a telephone network 122. A conventional answering machine 121 isconnected to the user telephone 120.

Operation of the communications system 100 will now be discussed withreference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The computer user 102 uses the user computer106 to review a multitude of products and services advertised on theInternet 108. Businesses on the Internet 108 advertise on the World WideWeb using home pages. As is well known, home pages may include picturesof a product, descriptions of the product and a listing of a telephonenumber to call to ask questions or to order the product.

An exemplary home page 200 which may be used to advertise a product isshown in FIG. 2. As is well known, the home pages 200 on the World WideWeb use hypertext technology to enable computer users 102 to move fromone computer data base to another at the click of a mouse. The home page200 includes a text portion 202 describing the product or service. Whenactivated, “next” and “back” buttons 206, 208 transfer the computer user102 to the next home page or to the previous home page, respectively.Additionally, the above information may be entered as conventional textcommands.

If the computer user 102 wants to establish voice communications withthe business to order a product or to ask a question, the computer user102 activates a “call me” button 210. In response, the computer user 102is transferred to a return call screen 300 shown in FIG. 3. The computeruser 102 then enters a name 302, a telephone number to call 304 and atime to call 306 in their respective fields. Alternatively, the computeruser's name and telephone number may be kept on file and beautomatically entered in the appropriate fields in a well known manner.

For ease of operation, a list of frequently requested times in which tocall may be listed, such as immediately 306 a, 5 minutes 306 b or 30minutes 306 c. In this case, the computer user 102 would simply click onthe desired time. If needed, another time can be entered by the computeruser 102 in a designated area 308. After filling in the requestedinformation, the computer user 102 activates a “next” button 310 to senda call request to the telephone switching system 112. “Back” and “exit”buttons 312, 314 are activated to exit the home page 300 without sendingthe call request.

Additional information may be included in the call request forprocessing by the telephone switching network 112. For example, thenumber of the home page 200 which prompted the call request may beincluded in the call request. This information is used by the telephoneswitching system 112 to route the call to an agent having theappropriate knowledge about the product or service which prompted thecall. Additionally, the agent 104 can be viewing the home page 200 on aconventional computer display, or other displays, when conversing withthe computer user 102 over the agent telephone 118. Numerous displaysare well known in the art and may be advantageously employed in theinvention.

Preferably, a Web server of the business packetizes the name 302,telephone number 304 and the time to call 306 information into a singleconventional electronic mail (E-mail) message (designated a “callrequest”) which is sent over the Internet 108. Alternatively, program toprogram communications, such as Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (TCP/IP) sockets which are well known in those skilled in theart, may be used as a means to send the information from the operatorcomputer 106 to the telephone switching system 112.

The telephone computer 114 of the telephone switching system 112receives the call request, detects the time to call 306 and converts thecall request into a predictive dial request command, which is formattedfor proper receipt by the ACD 116. The telephone computer 114 may detectthe time to call 306 in the call request and delay transmitting the callrequest to the ACD 116 until the time to call. The telephone computer114 comprises timer 124, for detecting the time to call 306 in the callrequest. The timer 124 may be implemented by software. The ACD 116 wouldthen attempt to dial the telephone number 304 substantially immediatelyupon receipt of the dial request command.

Alternatively, the telephone computer 114 may transmit the dial requestcommand, which includes the time to call 306 information, substantiallyimmediately upon receipt of the call request. The ACD 116 would thendetect the time to call 306 and delay the outbound dialing of thetelephone number 304 until that time. Either the ACD 116 or thetelephone computer 114 may therefore control when the telephone number304 is dialed based on the time to call 306.

Preferably, the ACD 116 uses predictive outbound dialing to call thecomputer user telephone 120. Systems for providing predictive outbounddialing from the ACD 116 are well known in the art. One such system isdescribed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,261, the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The telephone computer 114 sends the dial request command to the ACD 116for call processing. A dialer 126 in the ACD 116, which is preferablysoftware based, then places an outbound telephone call to the computeruser telephone 120 in a well known manner. An answer detector 128 in theACD 116 detects when the computer user 102 answers the call, asdistinguished from an automated answering machine, a busy signal or noanswer. One such means for detecting whether a human answers a telephonecall is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,272, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

When the computer user 102 answers the telephone, the ACD 116 connectsthe computer user telephone 120 to the agent 104 through the agenttelephone 118. Various methods are well known in the art for selectingan agent to connect to the telephone call. Since the philosophy of suchmethods are not important to the present invention beyond connecting thetelephone call to the agent 104, details will not be further givenherein. Those desiring additional information regarding methods andsystems for selecting agents are referred to U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,903which is incorporated herein by reference.

Alternatively, the telephone computer 114 may dial the computer usertelephone 120 directly and connect the agent telephone 118 to thecomputer user telephone 120 when the computer user 102 answers the call.As is well known in the art, commercial telephone cards are availablefor personal computers for dialing external telephones. After thecomputer user 102 answers the call, the telephone computer 114 thendials a telephone number, or extension, to access the agent telephone118 and thereafter connect the agent 104 to the computer user 102.

In addition, the ACD 116 may transmit information to the agent 104 priorto, or simultaneous with, connecting the agent 104 to the computer user102. This information may comprise the computer user's name or otherinformation. The information may be displayed on the display of theagent 104 or provided to the agent 104 in any other appropriate manner.Those skilled in the art will likely be able to readily design numeroustelephone switching systems using commercially available components forreceiving the call request and automatically dialing the computer usertelephone 120. Any telephone switching system which can establish voicecommunications between the computer user 102 and the agent 104 can beadvantageously employed in the present invention.

A method for establishing voice communications between an computer user102 and an agent 104 is provided in the present invention. Inparticular, a method is provided for establishing voice communicationsbetween the computer user 102, associated with a computer 106 and atelephone 120, and an agent 104. The method comprises the steps ofentering a call request by the computer user 102 in the computer 106 forthe agent 104 to call the computer user 102 and transmitting the callrequest from the computer 106 over a computer network, such as theInternet 108, to a telephone switching system 112. Voice communicationsare then established between the agent 104 and the computer user 102through the telephone switching system 112.

Preferably, the telephone 120 associated with the computer user 102 isautomatically dialed by the telephone switching system 112 based on thecall request. In particular, the telephone computer 114 may receive thecall request, automatically dial the telephone 120 based on the callrequest and automatically connect the agent 104 to the telephone 120after dialing the telephone 120. The step of automatically connectingthe agent 104 preferably comprises the steps of determining when thecomputer user 102 answers the telephone 120 and automatically connectingthe agent 104 to the telephone 120 when the computer user 102 answersthe telephone 120.

Further, the step of entering the call request may comprise the step ofentering a telephone number of the telephone 120 associated with thecomputer user 102 and wherein the step of automatically dialing thetelephone 120 comprises the step of dialing the telephone number. Thestep of entering the call request may comprise the step of entering atime to call the computer user 102 and wherein the step of automaticallydialing the telephone 120 comprises the step of automatically dialingthe telephone 120 at the time to call. The step of entering the callrequest may comprise the step of entering a name of the computer user102 and wherein the method comprises the step of indicating to the agent104 the name of the computer user 102 before establishing voicecommunications between the agent 104 and the computer user 102.

The step of automatically dialing the telephone may comprise the stepsof sending a dial request command from a telephone computer 114 to anautomatic call distributor 116 associated with the agent 104 andautomatically dialing the telephone 120 by the automatic calldistributor 116 in response to the dial request command. Further, thestep of automatically connecting the agent 104 comprises the steps of:determining when the computer user 102 answers the telephone 120 andautomatically connecting the agent 104 to the telephone 120 when thecomputer user 102 answers the telephone 120.

Having thus described the invention in detail by way of reference topreferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that othermodifications and variations are possible without departing from thescope of the invention defined in the appended claims. For example, thetelephone switching system 112 may have design configurations whichdepart from those described herein.

1. A method for establishing communication by voice between a computeruser and at least one agent, the computer user being associated with acomputer, the method comprising: entering into the computer a request bythe computer user for a return communication by voice from the agent tothe computer user in response to a prompt to the computer user to entera request; transmitting the request from the computer over a computernetwork to a computer controlled system; and establishing a return voicecommunication channel initiated from the agent to the computer userthrough the computer controlled system.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising establishing a web page which provides an indicia which canbe activated to initiate the request for return communication by voice.3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of establishing voicecommunication comprises machine dialing of a telephone number of atelephone associated with the computer user.
 4. The method of claim 3wherein the step of entering the request comprises entering a time tocall the computer user; and wherein the step of machine dialing thetelephone number comprises the step of dialing the telephone number atthe time to call.
 5. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of enteringthe request comprises the step of providing a name of the computer user;and wherein the method comprises indicating to the agent the name of thecomputer user after establishing voice communications between the agentand the computer user.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising thestep of providing to the agent at least one of a name of the computeruser and other computer user information.
 7. The method of claim 3further comprising connecting the computer user telephone to the agentthrough an agent communication device when the computer user answers thetelephone associated with the computer user.
 8. The method of claim 7further comprising redialing the telephone number associated with thecomputer user at a later time if the computer user does not answer. 9.The method of claim 6 further comprising display of customer informationon a display of the agent.
 10. The method of claim 2 wherein a first webpage permits the computer user to request a return communication byvoice and a second web page provides for entry of computer userinformation including at least one of computer user name, computer usertelephone number and time for return communications by voice.
 11. Themethod of claim 2 wherein the computer user exits the web page withoutsending the request for return communications.
 12. The method of claim 1wherein the computer network comprises at least one bulletin board. 13.The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one agent is selected from aplurality of agents.
 14. A method of communications between a computeruser and at least one agent, the computer user being associated with auser computer, the method comprising: establishing a web page on theuser computer which prompts the computer user to enter a request for areturn communication by voice; entering in the user computer a requestby the computer user for a return communication by voice from the agentto the computer user; transmitting the request from the user computerover a computer network to a computerized system; converting the requestinto a command formatted for use by the computerized system to establisha return communication by voice link initiated from the agent to thecomputer user; providing computer user information to at least one agentregarding the requested return communication.
 15. The method of claim 14wherein the web page provides an indicia which can be activated toinitiate the request for return communication by voice.
 16. The methodof claim 14 wherein the computer user information includes at least acomputer user name.
 17. The method of claim 14 wherein a first web pageprovides for the computer user to request a return communication byvoice and a second web page provides for entry of computer userinformation including at least one computer user number and a time forthe return communication.
 18. A communication system for establishingcommunications by voice between a computer user and at least one agent,the computer user being associated with a user computer, and entering arequest in the user computer for a return communication by voice fromthe at least one agent in response to being prompted to enter therequest, the communication system comprising: an agent voicecommunication device associated with the agent; a computerized systemwhich receives the request for a return voice communication from theuser computer, converts the request into a command formatted for use bythe computerized system to establish a return voice communication linkinitiated from the agent to the computer user, and provides computeruser information to at least one agent regarding the requested returncommunication.
 19. The system of claim 18 wherein a web page isestablished on the user computer which prompts the computer user toenter the request and comprises an indicia which can be activated toinitiate the request.
 20. The system of claim 18 wherein a first webpage on the user computer provides for the computer user to request thereturn communication and a second web page provides for entry ofcomputer user information.
 21. The system of claim 18 wherein the agentcommunication device comprises a telephone, and wherein the computeruser telephone is associated with the computer user and wherein thecomputerized system further comprises a telephone dialing machine whichdials a telephone number of the computer user to establish the returncommunication.
 22. The system of claim 18 wherein the computerizedsystem couples the at least one agent to the computer user via a voicechannel when a voice connection with the computer user has beenestablished and the computer user has answered.